Any D U Mechanics

[DemocratSinceBirth]

I am using my friend's 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. I have replaced the thermostat and bypass hose on my own dime. Now the water pump is leaking from the weep hole. I bought a water pump for $19.99 at Auto Zone and am waiting to get the $95.00 to have it installed. That was the best price I could find.

I constantly monitor the fluid level in the radiator and replace if necessary. Can STOP LEAK buy me more time?

[Major Nikon]

1. Probably not and it's not a good idea anyway

If you have water coming out of the weep hole it probably means that water is getting in the bearings or soon will get in the bearings. If the water pump locks up on you, nothing good follows.

[rurallib]

2. agreed.

[hunter]

3. The air getting into the cooling system is just as bad as the water leaking out.

The oxygen getting into the coolant will increase corrosion and clog things up.

In this situation Stop Leak will make things worse.

If the water pump is leaking it's something you want to repair right away. Otherwise you are gunking up your engine's cooling system and risking a sudden breakdown on the road; a breakdown of the catastrophic sort if you are not paying attention to the engine temperature.

I'm speaking from experience... nothing quite like overheating and blowing a head gasket in heavy freeway traffic. You sort of slink down in your seat and hope nobody shoots you for bringing traffic to a crawl. Half the people driving by are looking at you with anger, irritation, or disgust.

Then the Highway Patrol appears and shoves your car off the road with extreme prejudice.

[MicaelS]

4. Absolutely NOT!! Replace the water pump now!!

The pump pulley could shear off, and not only ruin your engine by overheating, but the coolant could escape and ruin parts of your electrical system too.

[mikeytherat]

6. see my story below

mikey_the_rat

[mikeytherat]

5. Fate dictates that the pump will seize and do bad things at the worst time.

Christmas Eve, '95, 30 miles from parents' house. When I pondered why I wasn't getting any heat in my old Trooper, the words "water pump" were leaving my lips when it seized at interstate speed, sheared off, and took the fan assembly with it. The fan assembly, being freed and frisky, promptly went through the radiator. Good Thing: stopped me dead cold fast, preventing some major damage. Bad Thing: it didn't stop me fast enough to warp the head slightly, and lunch the gasket. BTW: Fate dictates the same outcome with neglected timing belts, too. You will find out what an "interference engine" is, and how your car used to have one.

Never again.

mikey_the_rat

[jmowreader]

7. If you have a torque wrench, changing water pumps is not hard

1. Drain about half the coolant. Unhook the battery. Figure out how many belts you need to remove to get the water pump belt off.

2. The water pump pulley is held on with four bolts. Loosen them while the belt is still on.

3. Remove all the belts in front of the water pump belt, then the water pump belt, then the pulley.

4. There are usually four to six bolts holding one of these on. Remove all of them, then the pump itself. You may have to pry it off, if it's siliconed on.

5. Get a tube of anaerobic sealant and put a very little bit on both sides of the gasket. Stick the bolts through the holes where they go in the water pump, then place and align the gasket on the pump.

6. Put the pump where it goes in the car and thread in the bolts finger tight.

7. Torque the bolts, in a crisscross pattern, to 25 lb-ft.

8. Put the car back together, refill the radiator (if there's a bleeder valve on the thermostat housing, open it and pour coolant in the radiator until it comes out the bleeder valve in a steady stream) and run the car for a few minutes to circulate the coolant.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

8. You forgot step 8a.

8a. As part of "put the car back together", stare blankly at the long serpentine belt and wonder "wtf?". Then buy a new belt and find a youtube video on how to install it.

:hi:

[jmowreader]

9. The "staring at the belt" part is in step 1

[krispos42]

10. Take hi-res pictures before you loosen anything.

And use the flash!


Some sidewalk chalk to label things might be useful.